Freelance Writing: You’re Only Competing Against Yourself
April 29, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Writing Tips
Freelance writers talk about competition a lot. We worry about the competition when applying for a job, and we worry about things like freelancers who bid lower or who have a a longer list of past clients and recommendations. If there’s one thing I’ve learned all these years, is that I’m the only person I need to worry about.
Let me explain:
If I’m the best person for the gig, I’ll be hired
It doesn’t matter if 500 people apply for the same freelance writing job. The only thing that matters is that I will be hired if this potential client feels I’m the best person for the job. There are many different factors leading to a hire, including expertise, resume, customer recommendations and a well written introductory letter. This has nothing to do with everyone else who is applying, it only has to do with me. If I apply for a job with the mindset that I’m the best person for the job and have the ability to convince this employer of the same, what all the other writers are doing doesn’t matter.
If I give my all to a client I’ll get repeat business
Why do some freelancers have the same clients for years? For several reasons:
- Good customer service
- Turning in clean work every time
- Meeting all deadlines
- The ability to take direction well
- Flexibility
Potential clients don’t want to place an ad on Craigslist every time they need writers. They want to have one or two trusted freelancers to work with every time. If your customer is pleased with your service, you don’t have to ever worry about anyone else.
If I meet my deadlines and turn in clean work, I’ll get recommendations leading to other job
There came a point in my freelancing career when I realized I didn’t have to look at the job boards for work. All my freelance writing jobs were coming via word of mouth. My clients were so happy they were recommending me to other clients and my business grew overnight. If you’re good at what you do, your clients will reward you with word of mouth referrals and you won’t have to worry about the others who apply via job boards.
It doesn’t matter about competition because I’m the only one building MY freelance writing business
It’s your freelance writing business. Build it as if there’s no one else around. Be aggressive in your job hunt, but not pushy. Play up your assets and especially establish your areas of expertise. Don’t think of other freelancer writers as your competition. Instead, become part of their community. Discuss tips and tricks with them. Commiserate and strategize, but don’t let other freelancers be an excuse for not being motivated or confident enough to go the good jobs. You are your only competition. You may not land every gig, but with the proper mindset you’ll do well.
A few points.
one: absolutely, for any gig listed on the web there will be hundreds of completely unqualified applicants. If you’re highly qualified, you’ll rise to the top. But of course you can’t be highly qualified for every position – and often it’s unclear just what the hiring party is seeking in a candidate.
two: for many years I had ongoing clients I got by word of mouth (still have many). But several of the top clients (including Time Inc., Scholastic Publishing and The New York Times Co.) are no longer hiring at anything like the rate they once did. Nothing to do with my delivery of product: they simply don’t have projects for which they need to hire.
three: online job board have really, really come of age! I’m thrilled with the listings on this site and others – and have landed new, ongoing, and really high quality clients as a result of applying through Craigslist, etc.
In short, the world has changed – and with the help of Deb, Jodee and others I’m able to change with it. The world needs fewer publications and more web content; I can do that. The world needs less “intro to the internet” and more green content; I can do that too.
Thanks!
Lisa
I’m at the “word of mouth” stage at present. I haven’t had to look for a job since December of 2008, so I’m going on my 5th month of work without having to ask for it. It’s a really great feeling, and I feel pretty justified in that I was able to get to this point within only about 6 months of starting this career last year.
More than anything else is your reputation. The reason I am where I am today is because I consistently complete my projects well ahead of deadline (usually in half the time my clients request), I submit clean, quality materiel that doesn’t require re-writes, and I’m flexible and able to cover a variety of subjects dependent upon the needs of my client.
In a world of global proportions, every job that goes up has between 6 thousand and 8 thousand replies within the first 24-48 hours, statistically. A few hundred within the first few hours, up to a few thousand within the first 24 hours. It’s difficult to get your resume to stick out these days because there are writers from all corners of the globe who have the exact same experience and resume that you have, and the only thing between you getting the job and them getting the job is whether or not you happened to be in the first couple hundred e-mails the editor decided to wade through before saying “I like this one; screw the other 5 thousand e-mail replies”. Sure, you can hope that you are better than anyone else, but that’s becoming rarer and rarer these days as more and more people rack up credits and qualifications. That’s why it’s better to sink your teeth into clients when you get them, and make sure you make the absolutely best impression possible to guarantee a return visit from them, because relying on the job boards is fickle at best. Better than it used to be, but from what I see on a regular basis from the people within the communities I visit, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to land work in the face of competitive wages and global domination.
I agree with your points, but I do feel that there are a lot of equally qualified writers out there that I’m competing against. I used to check the job boards and bid on jobs all over the ‘net, but never got anything worthwhile–only really cheap job offers. I gave up on that route and took charge of finding work by calling local businesses and pitching ideas or just introducing myself and sending an introductory business letter about what I can do for them. This helped me drum up real, local business. Things have slowed down a lot (I only write part-time), so I plan to do more calling a letters to get local business. This is what works for me.